The Brumbies’ 2010 season ended at the hands of the Crusaders in a 40-22 loss at Christchurch’s with coach Andy Friend saying how disappointed the Brumbies are to bow out of the finals race.
Needing a win to progress through to the Super 14 finals series, the Brumbies trailed 22-10 at the break and were unable to reign in the deficit eventually succumbing five tries to three.
"The effort was good and that’s been the case throughout the season, so we couldn’t fault them there," said Friend.
"It was George’s last game and we would have liked to send him off on a better note.
"I honestly felt tonight if we were good enough we could have turned up and won that game."
"There was real belief (from the side) going into that game and when you’ve got that and it doesn’t work then you’ve got real disappointment." he added.
The loss was an unfortunate end to the Brumbies career of flanker George Smith who finishes his 11 years of Super Rugby with 129 matches.
The final act of his distinguished career with the ACT province was an attempted conversion after full time which was waved away.
The Brumbies appeared to have a dream start when Matt Giteau intercepted a Crusaders pass and set sail for a 60-metre run to the try line only to be called offside by referee Bryce Lawrence.
While Daniel Carter uncharacteristically pushed the resulting penalty goal and a second wide within the first four minutes, the Crusaders weren’t reliant on the flyhalf’s boot for their first points when Sean Maitland finished off an excellent team try that started 10 metres in their own half.
The Brumbies responded when Tyrone Smith pounced on a Daniel Bowden pass and carried the intercept 40 metres to score under the posts in the 18th minute, with Giteau’s straightforward conversion leveling the scores at 7-all.
Unfortunately the Brumbies’ first try at AMI Stadium since 2004 only spurred on the Cantabrians to put on two tries in three minutes.
The first coming when Zac Guildford toed a ball through for a determined Kieran Read to beat the converging defence at the 25-minute mark, before Read was again involved in laying on a try for prop Owen Franks in the right-hand corner.
Giteau and Carter added a penalty goal apiece late in the half with the Crsuaders taking a 12-points advantage to the sheds at half time.
Five minutes into the second term, the Brumbies’ willingness to throw the ball around paid dividends when a neat Tyrone Smith flick pass put the finishing touch on a sweeping Brumbies movement to allow prop Ben Alexander to cross for his seventh try of the season.
However, ill discipline put the visitors on the back foot with Richie McCaw taking advantage by pushing over for a try with Carter adding a conversion and penalty goal soon after to extend the lead to 32-17 midway through the half.
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